A large percentage of the general population in the United States exhibits some sort of misalignment of the foot, either in the rearfoot, forefoot, or both. If uncorrected, these misalignment characteristics can manifest themselves as overuse injuries of the lower extremity, fatigue, or abnormal wear of the shoes.
Those with severe misalignment often seek the assistance of a professional (such as a podiatrist or therapist) who typically prescribes a corrective orthotic. This process is usually effective, if a careful assessment of the patient's foot alignment characteristics is taken. However, this process is expensive and results in a prosthesis that must be inserted on top of or in place of the insole of the shoe. Also, the precise correction that is incorporated into most orthotics may be necessary in only some patients with severe misalignment problems. However, most patients with only minor misalignments could benefit from a general correction. This general correction of any misalignment may provide a substantial benefit in terms of comfort, performance, and wear of a shoe (or other piece of footwear) for anyone who exhibits any kind of foot misalignment.
Professionals typically use a conventional hand-held goniometer to make alignment assessments of the rearfoot and forefoot for prescription of orthoses. Thus, only one hand can be used to correctly position the hand-held goniometer during the assessment. This introduces the potential for measurement errors during the assessment.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved footwear customization system and process.